Passing through the main gates of the academy after such a long time gave me a slightly refreshing feeling.
‘Well, this is technically my first time here.’
The excitement of the original story finally beginning was tinged with the anxiety of whether this tale could actually reach a happy ending.
And amidst that, many small thoughts crossed my mind — would the moment we reach the ending truly be the end? Could I find my way back?
‘Tomorrow looks promising, doesn’t it?’
Unfortunately, today isn’t the day of the opening ceremony.
– “Why are we doing a rehearsal anyway? We’ll just listen to the Director’s 20-minute speech and that’s it, right?”
– “Nope, the Director said something about a ‘Golden Generation’ coming this year, so they’re planning a surprise using an augmented reality mana generator.”
– “All we had back in our day was catching pieces of paper falling from the sky, but this year’s freshmen are going to have it good.”
– “You better behave. If you make a fool of yourself here, your school life is over.”
As visible, today was a simple day for a dress rehearsal of the freshman’s welcoming ceremony.
During the speech, a gate will suddenly appear in the sky and immediately trigger a Dungeon Break. Swarms of virtual monsters will rain down to test how the cadets react to the unexpected event.
Naturally, no one could orchestrate this scenario alone without facing severe internal backlash. So Director Eve Meitner cunningly devised a plan.
This was today’s rehearsal.
“Could you place that beam projector over there? Since it won’t deal any physical damage, let’s make it as threatening as possible.”
“Yes, Director.”
“And Han Soo, could you also bring over the mana crystals for these devices?”
“Affirmative!”
Under Director Eve’s orders, cadets from the Student Council busied themselves attaching the beam projectors and augmented reality devices.
– “Clatter!”
– “Whoosh… Clunk!”
“Hey student council president, is it okay for you to slack off like that?”
“I’m working hard, Ayul.”
Of course, so am I.
While watching Kang Ayul, who was using her sword technique to float on her sword and adjust the lights on the ceiling, something about her seemed to irk me. Perhaps it was just her mischievous nature, but when she accidentally dropped a mana crystal and I picked it up without returning it, instead attaching it to the light closest to me, her exasperated “Hey!” echoed around the room. I simply chuckled and ran away.
The two of us occasionally showed this kind of ‘chemistry’ in the story, though it felt strangely interesting trying it myself.
Since Kang Ayul already somewhat suspected what I was planning to do — something that could endanger Yoon Seong-ho — I had to play the part of Yoon Se-ah as realistically as possible to match her memories.
“Alright everyone, let’s finish this part and then come here to help carry these.”
“…Alright.”
Still, the efficiency was no ordinary feat.
‘The Director only selected cadets capable of sending updates to the board members and in the meantime, she’s tampering with the mana stones to allow the augmented reality to cause physical damage. She truly is exceptional.’
The Director’s grin just wouldn’t fade. It felt like she was gleefully relishing the ability to monitor the board members.
‘While the official reasoning given was to test the skills of the supposedly “Golden Generation,” isn’t it more likely that it’s also a way to give the board members’ children a taste of their own medicine?’
For some reason, the opening ceremony would be broadcast live to demonstrate the cadets’ abilities.
An evil intent seemed clear—these board members’ children had probably entered the academy based more on connections than skill, and now, before the nation, a spectacle of these privileged students fleeing in a panic would be presented.
Of course, in the game, these scenes were glossed over quickly since remembering only Director Eve Meitner among the faculty sufficed. However, her schemes, which were well-known to me, were more complicated.
It seemed they sought to unseat Eve from her position as Director, then, in the vacancy, install themselves, sending the academy’s top students to large guilds in exchange for significant bribes—a sinister plot I knew all too well.
Eve had expressed multiple times her frustration with the board members, wishing to overthrow them altogether.
“Yoon Se-ah, adjust that light’s angle a bit more!”
Floating gracefully on her sword, the always active Kang Ayul maintained a watchful eye over the entire lighting setup.
Dressed in the rather short skirts of Raon Academy, she floated high in the air—a sight that had the male cadets keeping their heads down, shuffling about quietly.
“Ayul, you’re making the male students too self-conscious by flying around so casually.”
“Huh? What do you mean…!!!”
-Klonk!
Startled to the point where she couldn’t even maintain her sword’s suspension, Kang Ayul tumbled down in a ridiculous manner.
Honestly, if Ayul had planned to soar so high, she should’ve worn pants like me; she hadn’t even worn underwear. Honestly, what was she thinking?
‘Cool on the outside, but prone to silly clumsiness—an archetype I was already familiar with.’
The original story’s lore checks out.
…
…
…
After the chaotic preparations for the entrance test were completed, only the key members of the student council, including myself and Kang Ayul, remained in the auditorium.
As the Student Council President, myself, and Vice President Ayul prepared alongside four extra members, Eve flicked her finger, instantly transporting us to our designated positions for the start of the real entrance ceremony rehearsal.
“Since all of your backgrounds have been thoroughly vetted, let’s begin the real rehearsal.”
With a snap of her fingers, Eve enveloped the auditorium in a translucent barrier.
“With this, the regular students will simply think we’re doing some final touch-ups.”
In a calm motion, Eve explained what was about to happen.
Briefly speaking, due to the unprecedented talent of this year’s freshmen, a mock augmented reality combat setup would be used to simulate a Gate Break, where virtual monsters would descend upon the students, and their responses would be observed. Most members of the student council readily agreed to the plan.
Of course, we all knew the additional intent of humbling the board members’ children would be a nice bonus.
While Kang Ayul would ensure that no students escaped during the simulation, the four extras were supposed to help guide terrified students to safety while subtly manipulating the virtual monsters to simulate an all-out confrontation between students and the monsters.
And my job…?
“Se-ah, I’d like you to stand by in the corner and record in detail how the students respond.”
‘I thought I’d be tasked with stopping escapees. Unexpected.’
I intended to use the [Eye of Hypnosis] to influence the students against escaping, but instead, I fidgeted with the earrings in my ears, swallowing hard.
…
…
…
A few weeks prior.
-Hoooom!
“Ugh… I’ve lost, Miss Se-ah.”
“Thank you for the duel, Mr. Se-in.”
“Not at all, this was quite an eye-opener.”
It was a narrow victory over Shin Se-in, a member of the Golden Guild and Tier 126 A-Rank Hero of South Korea.
Unlike me, who was a Magician, Shin Se-in relied more on brute force, rushing forward with cybernetic boots attached to her legs and engaging in close combat. It was a tough matchup due to the unfavorable conditions, but using Psychokinesis and the [Eye of Hypnosis], I subtly altered her assault patterns and finished her off with an attack into the Void.
Had a Defender been in front, I could’ve used the [Eye of Hypnosis] to manipulate the Defender for my gain.
“Listen carefully, your power is way above the norm for a mere student. What cadet fights A-Rank heroes like this, anyway?”
After saying this, Eve quickly returned with a sapphire-encrusted earring, which she immediately attached to me.
…
…
…
‘That’s these earrings.’
Apparently, they reduce my ability’s maximum output by about 30%.
When using the [Eye of Hypnosis] or remnants of Mephisto, the earrings would limit my output, thereby lessening the toll on my body according to Eve’s hypothesis.
After wearing the earrings, I indeed felt less strain when using my abilities; the manifestation of my powers felt notably more stable.
Eve seemed apologetic about needing me to suppress my strength intentionally, but since I had no intention of drawing attention to myself, it didn’t bother me.
‘If I break these earrings to use my full force, Eve will already know the gravity of the situation.’
Although I can forcefully destroy the earrings, doing so would alert Eve of their destruction and my current location.
She’d rather have me simply keep it on for now.
In other words, if I break them, Eve will arrive.
‘…Still, as most situations in the academy could be handled by Eve, this setup works.’
My role was straightforward—aid the protagonist with various hidden opportunities and guide them to defeating the final boss.
With that, I looked forward to meeting the protagonist tomorrow, anticipating the upcoming episodes, and let sleep claim me.
—
On the day of the official opening ceremony—
‘…The protagonist is…missing?!’
The protagonist wasn’t anywhere in the auditorium.
